The driver of a bus that overturned while returning from a wedding in the New South Wales Hunter Valley overnight, resulting in the deaths of at least 10 people and multiple people being injured, has been charged by police.
The 58-year-old man has been charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death – drive manner dangerous and negligent driving occasioning death.
He was refused bail and will appear at Cessnock Local Court tomorrow.
An investigation has been launched into the fatal bus crash with detectives piecing together what happened in the lead-up to, and aftermath, of the devastating crash – which is one of the worst road accidents in the area’s history.
Just after 11.30pm, emergency services were called to a roundabout on Wine Country Drive near the Hunter Expressway off ramp at Greta, after receiving reports a coach had crashed and overturned.
As of 2pm, one patient was in a critical but stable condition and eight patients were in a stable condition at John Hunter Hospital, including two patients who were transferred from Maitland Hospital to John Hunter Hospital.
Whose wedding was it?
The wedding was for local footballer Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell. The couple are from Melbourne but are understood to have moved to NSW.
Warrandyte Cricket Club president Royce Jaksic told News Corp there were up to nine current players and their partners on the bus at the time of the crash.
Where was the bus going?
The bus had been carrying guests who attended a wedding at the nearby Wandin Estate winery in Lovedale earlier that evening.
The estate is about 10 kilometres away from the site of the accident.
Police have said the bus was on its way to Singleton.
Wandin Valley winery issued a brief statement this morning, saying they were “deeply saddened” by news of the crash.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims and we are supporting them in any way we can,” the owners said.
“At this time, we are providing support to those guests who need our help and we wish to maintain their privacy, and won’t be making any further statements at this time.”
What caused the crash?
While police have not yet given an indication of what they believe led to the crash, it appears there were no other vehicles involved.
We know there was a heavy fog this morning, which hampered visibility and prevented helicopters from landing at the crash site.
While the male bus driver has been arrested, further information about what police plan to charge him with is not yet known.
How many people were injured?
The death toll from the accident stood at 10 as of 10am this morning.
There were also further 21 passengers from the 57-seat bus confirmed to still be in hospital by the office of NSW Premier Chris Minns.
Patients being treated across four hospitals.
The patients are being treated across four hospitals.
One patient is in a critical condition and eight patients are in a stable condition at John Hunter Hospital.
Five patients are in a stable condition at Maitland Hospital.
Five more are also in a stable condition at Calvary Mater Newcastle and two patients are in a stable condition at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
Emergency call after crash revealed
A paramedic who arrived on the scene called for assistance, with the recording revealing the extent of the carnage faced by first responders.
“Major incident declared. We have a bus rollover, multiple patients,” he said.
“The exact location is on Wine Country Drive overpass. We have police, fire brigade on scene.
“At this stage, we have identified seven, I repeat, seven, code fours.”
A “code four” is a person who has died.
The caller also said there was one “red label” patient also expected to die, and multiple red (critical) and orange (serious) patients.
“I need all resources allocated to continue, I am still trying to work out exactly how many patients I have here,” the paramedic said.
